SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

September 30, 2022

Garrick Higgo

Country Club of Jackson

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice playing today.

GARRICK HIGGO: Thanks, yeah, it was much better.

Q. What maybe was the biggest difference between today and Thursday?

GARRICK HIGGO: I'd say I putted the same and just hit it a lot better today. But yeah, my game is improving a lot the last week. It's kind of showing how hard I've been working the last two months just to get my game back to where it was.

Q. What do you think maybe was the difference between when you won at Congaree to maybe where you had a little bit of a lull and you've been working so hard to get the game back to where it was. Did something just happen or was it just golf?

GARRICK HIGGO: I think it's golf, and I think my life changed a lot since that day. I used to live in South Africa, now I live over here.

Yeah, and schedule change, everything, my whole life changed, so I think I'm kind of at a place now again where I can just focus on my golf. I'm out of the limelight a little bit. I was kind of -- everything was new. Yeah, I feel like I'm in a good spot where I can kind of build some confidence and start to play good again.

Q. Maybe one thing with the media or fans don't realize is that was a life-changing moment for you at Congaree but there's so much that comes with it that maybe none of us see or realize how difficult that could be.

GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, it's something that I'm so thankful that it happened, but yeah, it's how you learn. Every tour I won on for the first time it was a little bit more life-changing, but this one was obviously the biggest, and there were a lot of things that needed to change after I won.

Yeah, I think everything like off the course is in a good spot now, so I can just play golf and do what I always do.

Q. Do you feel like you kind of have maybe an idea now of golf courses, the routine off the golf course? Inside the ropes obviously is the same, but the stuff outside of it maybe now you kind of understand that as you go forward in this season? As you said, you don't have to worry about that as much and can just focus on your game?

GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, this is my last tournament that I haven't played. I guess you could say it's my first full year up until now. So that's exciting, too. Knowing where the locker room is, knowing all the little things that take a bit of energy if you add them up. I've made some good friends out here now, so I'm a lot more comfortable than I was in the beginning.

Q. What have you been working on the last couple months in particular?

GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, I went to a phase in January, which was not the best idea, so I became really steep and put a lot of spin on the ball.

I played all right. I always just play golf so I can get the ball in the hole whatever I'm doing, but as soon as I realized it was too far the one way and I tried to fix it, you can't really play and try and fix something. I sacrificed quite a few tournaments to kind of work on it while I'm playing, and now finally I feel like I'm back to where I used to be able to just hit little draws and a lot shallower, a lot less spin on the ball.

Q. How hard is that for a professional golfer to know that they have to sacrifice a couple tournaments but to change something that's going to be for the better good long-term?

GARRICK HIGGO: Yeah, I think mentally it's very tough because it takes a huge hit on your confidence, too. You hit shots that -- you know, like I was really spinny and I hit the fade, but I can play it if I need -- that's why I could kind of get the ball in the hole. Once you try and hit a different shot but that's your pattern, you start to get big misses.

Even like three or four weeks ago when it was kind of already a lot better, you still have those kind of memories. It takes time just to really get comfortable and kind of completely forget about what you used to do.